The Rest of College Football

[froot loops]

McNamara can be much more than a game manager. Saturday showed that. When you have the stroke Michigan does in recruiting, the product shouldn't be a run oriented risk averse offense.

[Mike]

Jeff, I think you significantly overestimate the issue of roster retention/construction in the hypothetical of a new coach taking over Michigan in 2022. Exhibit A is right up the road in EL. Mel Tucker inherited an absolute dumpster fire from Dantonio. He went out and hit the transfer portal. I think he brought in about 20 new guys including Kenneth Walker III. KWII, as we all know, previously played at Wake Forest. His only other offers were from Kent State and Arkansas State. So again (carrying over a point from the other thread), they have a coach in Tucker, whom I was previously not familiar to him prior to the MSU coaching search, taking over a sinking ship in EL that was completely void of roster talent and in his 2nd year he's 8-0 and ranked #3 with 2 wins over Harbaugh who has been on the job for 7 years.

My point is that really good coaches come in and win right away. When JH was hired at Michigan I remember a stat going around that 14 of the previous 17 coaches to win a national championship did so within the first 3 years at that school. They all were hired for a reason which usually is the previous guy was fired for poor performance. Yet they come in and win right away. Saban didn't inherit a death star at Alabama. They sucked. That's why the job was available.

As for who I want to see have the job.... Kevin Wilson comes immediately to mind. But we have an AD who pulls in 7 figures to make those decisions. My personal preference would be an offense-first type coach. I'd make overtures to Lincoln Riley on the chance things are running their course in Norman. I'm not as high on Matt Campbell as I was as a year ago.

[froot loops]

There was more talent on the roster for the Spartans than Mike is giving credit for, but that coaching staff has gotten a lot of production out of the holdovers than the previous staff would have. Tucker plugged a lot of holes in the secondary and linebacking crew along with Walker with the transfers. Going forward, any successful coach is going to have to embrace the transfer portal.

[iam416]

It's nice to see the old Buchanan back.

To Mike's point about winning right away -- HARBAUGH!!!! did win right away -- with Hoke's roster. He had strong 2015 campaign and a really, really good 2016 team. The more concerning thing is that I'm not sure he's had a better team than 2016.

Also to Mike's point -- the portal really does change a lot. But, regardless of the portal, the M roster is gonna be plenty good enough in 2022 to be, well, 9-3/10-2 competitive.

[Tom W]

There was more talent on the roster for the Spartans than Mike is giving credit for, but that coaching staff has gotten a lot of production out of the holdovers than the previous staff would have. Tucker plugged a lot of holes in the secondary and linebacking crew along with Walker with the transfers. Going forward, any successful coach is going to have to embrace the transfer portal.

Ironically, Michigan essentially brought that portal to the mainstream with the Shea Patterson experience. OSU and MSU should respectively thank us for Fields and Walker.

[lineygoblue]

the M roster is gonna be plenty good enough in 2022 to be, well, 9-3/10-2 competitive.

I fail to see what is better about that. The car is in neutral.

[Mike]

To Mike's point about winning right away -- HARBAUGH!!!! did win right away -- with Hoke's roster. He had strong 2015 campaign and a really, really good 2016 team. The more concerning thing is that I'm not sure he's had a better team than 2016.

Also to Mike's point -- the portal really does change a lot. But, regardless of the portal, the M roster is gonna be plenty good enough in 2022 to be, well, 9-3/10-2 competitive.

Right. Harbaugh came in and took a team that went 5-7 in 2014 to 10-3 in 2015, then started 9-0 and was ranked #2 in 2016. Then it all went up in smoke. It certainly was very promising early on but, IMO, Harbaugh isn't going to magically start winning all the tough games because he has a shiny new coordinator in years 7, 8, and beyond. There is no uncertainty at this point and the only common denominator is him.

There's also enough talent on the roster for a new coach to come in and be successful. There is no need to strip it down to the studs and rebuild it like RichRod did.

Just as a thought exercise for Michigan fans, if Kevin Wilson came in next year and JJ McCarthy stayed at Michigan, would you be more or less optimistic that Michigan would win some of the big games? I'd be more optimistic. We've seen Harbaugh's ceiling at it seems firmly capped at 10 wins.

[THE_WIZARD_]

HARBAUGH!!!

[Dr. Strangelove]

Couldn't remember who we play this week. My heart just sunk when I checked.

FROSTY!!! has outcoached Ryan Day every meeting. This year he's finally got talent too.

Furthermore that snakepit Lincoln will be so drunk on ethanol that our boys might just drop from fright.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Are we trading QB's...OL...DL...LB's...Secondary...receivers, special teams HC and RB's?

If we are then I'd be worried if I were you.

[Jeff Buchanan]

It's nice to see the old Buchanan back.

I think you're comment a while back said that, "at least I was convincible"...... that may have pertained to other posters here. People who stake out positions, even rationally, and are unwilling to hear rational counter arguments aren't worth arguing sensibly with them.

Anyway, I've used that phrase in many discussions with others who want to talk about important issues.

[Mike]

Jeff, I guess I just don't have much interest in debating the minutia of another choke job from one of Harbaugh's teams. Individual plays can be broken down and every movement of every player can be Zaprudered to death. It's not something I personally find very interesting. Bottom line is Michigan had a 30-14 lead late in the 3rd quarter and their last 5 possessions were:

Punt
FG
Turnover
Turnover on downs
Turnover

It's beyond clear that Harbaugh isn't a big game coach based on the results of those games. This is also his 11th year as a college football coach and he is yet to win a single conference or division title.

[Jeff Buchanan]

I can't find fault with your position, Mike.

You've also brought up the long advanced argument in favor of replacing underperforming HCs that when the new HC comes in they win right away. Tucker is a good example. We've also entertained arguments that those are outliers.

TBH, as opposed to a status quo of being OK with 9-3 or 10-2, loosing to OSU, MSU under Mel Tucker, and never going to Indy or the CFP, M could upgrade at HC. It's a risky undertaking with considerable downsides, IMO. That's because Warde Manual would likely be involved and I don't think anyone around here trusts him to do a search correctly, especially with regard to the right set of priorities. I could elaborate but there is not a poster on this board that doesn't understand the obstacles that stand in the way of M coming up with a coach that is going to come in a "win right away."

In isolation, while I'm now convinced the arguments to replace Harbaugh are stronger than those to retain him, I remain skeptical that we'd get a win right away kind of hire out of a predictable fucked up, ill--prioritized search . That puts me between a rock and a hard place in giving a full endorsement of that COA.

[AlabamAlum]

A couple of decent games tonight:

[AlabamAlum]

Billy Napier and Louisiana-Lafayette went to 8-1 last night with a win over Georgia State. Napier, a former Bama assistant, is 36-12 (.750) in his 4th year at LaLa. His last three years, he has gone 29-5 (.853) and is 2-1 in bowls. The 4 years before Napier arrived, the Ragin’ Cajuns were 24-26. I don’t really know why he hasn’t gotten more looks from bigger schools, but I think whatever school tabs him will get a good coach.